For this Sunday’s Editorial I would like to repost, Kevin Miller’s “Looking For Truth in the Sunshine State.”

I chose this post because it entails a brief history on how “alternative modalities, which some of them were really main stream for millennia, became “alternative”, quackery, and charlatanry”, virtually overnight. The ongoing struggle of the medical monopoly versus true, integrative medicine, is being fought at the expense of people looking to healthcare professionals for sound, pertinent advise to make informed decisions about their health care.

It is my opinion that a true understanding of how our healthcare system became what it is today, will shed some light on the politics of “Modern Medicine” and will give readers an understanding why Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) have to “reclaim” their place in medicine.

I would like to thank Kevin for allowing me to repost his article right here. And now without further ado, here is Kevin Miller’s:

Looking For Truth in the Sunshine State.
http://kevinpmiller.blogspot.com/2006/03/looking-for-truth-in-sunshine-state_09.html

“The American Medical Association is fast degenerating into a political machine bent on throttling everything which stands in its way for obtaining medical supremacy. They propose to own and control every medical college in this country, all the State, municipal and university hospitals, and licensing boards in the United States.”
— DR. DeWITT WILCOX,
President of the Institute of Homeopathy, 1914

Quackery. It’s the one word used by medical purists in dismissing natural medicine and its practitioners. It’s a dark word — a searing indictment. “You’re a fraud,” they say. A charlatan.

A quack.

Over the years thousands of practitioners of so -called alternative medicine have been driven from the practice unfairly and countless others and are on the brink of extinction.

There’s a medical monopoly in the United States…a virulent strain of bias infecting freedom of choice in healthcare. It’s been ongoing for a hundred years…this dirty little secret… and it exists here in every state in the Union. But a new battleground is forming in the Confederacy — and another controversy is brewing in the state of Florida. It’s one that health freedom advocates should be paying close attention to, as it’s another battle over medical freedom of choice — and whether we have the right to choose a Naturopathic practitioner in Florida.

A few weeks ago, two health freedom bills were introduced in the Florida State Senate and Florida House of Representatives. They aim to protect Naturopathy in the state at a time when Naturopaths are literally dying off.

There has not been a new Naturopathic Doctor licensed in the state since 1959. Dr. Michael Dappolonia, an 88-year-old Naturopathic Doctor in Orlando was one of the last to be licensed to practice. “In those days there were over 500 members of the organization back in the early 50s,” he told me a few weeks ago. “And today I’m sorry to say over 500 members at the time we’re down to four — four licensed naturopathic physicians in the state of Florida.”

Even though he is in his latter years as an Octogenarian, Dr. Dappolonia is still a vision of good health — a handsome and articulate man who has watched with horror as the Florida Medical Association and others have depleted his ranks. Until now, legislators in Florida have refused to challenge the medical hegemony enjoyed by conventionally trained doctors and the drug company lobbyists.

The history of the American Medical Association — and its’ statewide chapters — ooze monopoly. To understand why the two bills introduced in the Florida State Senate (SB 2678) and House of Representatives (HB 1261) are so important, a little history is important.

“The AMA in its so called wisdom decided after the Flexner Report in 1910 that it was time to eliminate all competition,” said Dr. Lad Santiago, a Naturopathic Doctor from South Carolina. “By the 1950s, they had almost eliminated all of the reform schools (Homeopathy, Eclectic Medicine, etc), and then they started focusing on naturopathy. Naturopathy presented the greatest threat.”

This claim is borne out by the Cato Institute Report of 1995 entitled, “The Medical Monopoly: Protecting Consumers Or Limiting Competition?” In this groundbreaking report, author Sue Blevins investigated the various methods employed by the AMA over the past century in order to eliminate the real competition from natural remedies. One of the most famous cases highlighted in the report involved the FDA and AMA conspiracy — which was proven in the Courts — to wipe our chiropractic doctors in the United States.

Between 1963 and 1974 the AMA operated a Committee on Quackery with an intent to “expose the charlatanism of chiropractic.” The report details how the AMA urged members to lend “their full support to the continuing vigorous attack on medical quackery and to the education program on the cult of chiropractic,” writes Blevins.

In 1976, four chiropractors filed an antitrust lawsuit against the AMA and other medical organizations, charging them with criminal conspiracy to destroy chiropractic. . .and in 1987 the AMA was found guilty of illegal conspiracy and in violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Yet sadly, restrictions on chiropractic scope of practice and reimbursement remain in place to this day.

These ruthless tactics are nearly identical to those being utilized by the AMA with Naturopathic medicine and its’ practitioners. Dr. Michael Dappolonia says things virtually changed overnight and many Naturopaths were caught completely unaware. “Kevin, to this day I still to this day don’t know why it happened,” he told me. “It was so quick.”

Dr. Santiago, a student of history knows why the pressure from the AMA became so intense. “Naturopathy was using all sorts of therapeutics for all possible maladies, for all illnesses and infirmities that were imaginable,” he said. “They were truly a competitor in the health care field.”

ALMOST EVERYONE AGREES THAT ACUTE MEDICAL CARE —or allopathic medicine as it’s called— can save your life. Conventional doctors employ the very best weapons in their arsenal to bring you back from a near death experience.

Naturopathic doctors, on the other hand, are trained as the primary care physicians of natural medicine — and are committed to finding the source of disease and emphasize health maintenance rather than suppressing symptoms with drugs.

Is there any rational reason why these two forms of medicine cannot coexist? After all, aren’t these Florida bills are being driven by consumers who want the freedom to choose their own brand of medicine? Why is it so difficult to hear the will of the people, who are tired of double-digit inflation on prescription drugs and the runaway cost of healthcare?

How can a system plunging the world into chaos not change? How can a nation with so much suffering and pain and agony and death…..with so many ruined lives and sad tales…NOT honor a system based on the pledge “First Do No Harm?”

Until now, there have been few real opportunities for the public to weigh in on such a critical issue. Just lobbyists, weaving insider deals—politics and business married at the hip. . .the few controlling the many — the same old song. But, according to Dr. Santiago, there is hope brimming in Florida — and it could impact Naturopaths nationwide. “Anything that is true will always remain true no matter how much you suppress it,” he said recently. “It will resurface. . .and it has re-emerged. The outcry for the therapeutic the options that Naturopathic medicine has to offer is greater today than it ever has been.”

It’s the way life is in this sad state of Democracy — begging legislators to give us what is rightfully ours. But this is your chance to shine, Florida. Please write, call, fax, or email the Florida State legislators and tell them to pass Florida House Bill 1261 and Senate Bill 2678.

It may be the last chance we have for decades to stand for what is right — and to give consumers what is so badly needed:

Freedom to choose the practitioner they wish — without the interference of big government and big business.

A friend recently asked me what she could do about “Indigestion.” I found very helpful information on this subject in my Naturopathy class. There are plenty of other ways to deal with this, so here is one more way to look at this digestive disorder. The term “Indigestion” is used to describe a feeling of fullness. Many factors can be blamed for indigestion, including not only increased production of acid but also degreased acid and other digestive and enzymatic factors.

The pH range for the stomach to operate optimally is 1.5 to 2.5. Hydrochloric acid would be the primary stomach acid. The use of antacids will commonly raise the pH level to above 3.5. This will hamper the action of pepsin, an enzyme necessary for protein digestion. Which will have exasperating effects on the stomach. Consequently, the symptoms will be reduced by antacid use, hydrochloric acid and pepsin are indispensable in the digestive process. If they are not allowed to flourish, protein digestion and mineral division will not occur. Change in pH could produce a change in gut microbial flora, including the overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori. Therefore use antacids very wisely and only sparingly.

The problem could actually be, as believed by many nutrition oriented physicians, not too much hydrochloric acid, but rather a lack of it. It would make a lot of sense to enhance digestion rather than inhibit digestion by use of antacids.

Reflux esophagitis, (a.k.a. GERD, indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux disease) usually occurs by overeating causing gastric juices to flow up the esophagus. Other common causes: obesity, cigarette smoking, chocolate consumption, fried foods, soft drinks, alcohol, coffee. They either increase pressure, causing gastric juices to flow upward, or decrease the character of the esophageal sphincter. First and foremost would be to take preventative steps by simply removing the cause.

Chronic indigestion could probably be treated by putting 4-inch bricks under the bedposts to elevate the head and reduce the back flow of gastric juices.

The best way to diagnose lack of gastric acid is the Heidelberg test. Another way of establishing gastric acid insufficiency is via Hydrochloric Acid Supplementation. This works by taking a tablet of 10 grains or 600-mg of hydrochloric acid at the next meal. Should this dose not aggravate any symptoms one should at every meal of the same size increase the amount of tablets. One at the first meal, two at the next, three and so forth. A number of tablets need to be taken throughout the meal.

The dose should be increased, one tablet at a time, not to exceed seven, until one feels some warmth in the stomach. This feeling means that one has taken too many tablets for that meal and one needs to take one less for this size of meal the next time. The larger dose should be tried at the next meal, to make sure that it was the hydrochloric acid that caused the warmth.

After the largest dose for a specific meal was established without feeling any warmth in the stomach, this dose should be maintained at all meals of similar size. Less of course should be taken with smaller meals.

As your stomach regains the ability to produce the hydrochloric acid needed for optimal digestion one will feel that warm feeling again and will have to cut down the dose level.

As the blooming of spring is in high gear, there seems to be other things trying to work their way to reach the light of day. Here in Michigan, SB 777: A food controversy, as the state Senate considers a bill that would forbid towns and counties from enacting local legislation to regulate genetically engineered seed. This bill poses a flat out threat to our democratic process and could prove especially harmful given the serious concerns raised by genetically engineered crops.

Based on these serious concerns three counties in California have enacted a ban on the growing of GE crops and live stock. Austria, a pioneer in GE legislation, is setting further examples pertaining to GE organisms. Austria is one of five European countries virtually banning the planting of GE crops based on the precautionary principle via local precautionary laws. Since 2004 Austria has labeling laws in effect which mandate for foods with GE origin or ingredients to be labeled as such in order to ensure the traceability of GMO.

What is the precautionary principle?

The precautionary principle advocates complete investigation of a risk posed by a new technology before it is adopted. This of course would apply to GMO to demonstrate that they are totally harmless before they are planted, grown, and eventually ingested. However, there are some studies which have shown that GE is not at all as harmless as the big seed companies would want you to believe.

Here they are;

Austria banned the planting of butterfly killing transgenic maize based on a study, conducted at the Cornell University, New York, USA, which found that caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly feeding on plant leaves, which got dusted with pollen from the Norvartis transgenic Bt maize, ate less, grew slower and died faster compared to caterpillars that didn’t feed on the pollen.(1)

A study at the Shaare Zedak Medical Center in Jerusalem, explored the effects of a diet including bacteria fed to mice, and a different group of mice with a diet which included only the DNA of the same bacteria. With the result being, that both diets had the same implication on the immune system of the mice. This further raises the suspicion that there is an, as of yet, unknown connection between the immune system and DNA of food.

While the Food and Drug Administration insists that foods produced by genetic engineering are the same as foods from traditional breeding, their own scientists reported that, “the processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are different and… they lead to different risks.” as shown in the discovery documents from the lawsuit against the FDA, Alliance for Bio-Integrity et al v. Shalala, May 1998. Center for Food Safety, 666 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC 202-547-9359.

SB 777 is bad for Michiganders because preemptive legislation runs contrary to every democratic principle and a citizen’s involvement in the democratic process. It will strip local governments of their jurisdiction and the means of voters to pass LOCAL ballot initiatives pertaining to their well-being. SB 777 would legally prohibit the local regulation of GMO, if local regulation were desired via bans or permit only seeding, or other means of ensuring the publics safety.

Based on the above mentioned opposition to GE, corporations have a great interest in supporting candidates which are sponsoring asinine bills like SB 777.

It is up to every individual reader, to decide what risks they would like to live with. If GE or GMO’s are of no concern to you, I urge you to take action anyway, based on the precautionary principle. Before passing this piece of legislation, lets make sure we have first and foremost the public’s safety in mind. Let’s make sure we can guarantee the supply of safe, nutritious food for future generations.

I would like to leave you with the words of, Werner Mueller, Genetic Engineering Expert, Global 2000/Friends of the Earth Austria.

“The human genome project showed clearly that although we are full of data there is a huge lack of understanding what is really happening in a cell. Without this knowledge risk assessment is just like stumbling in the dark. GE technology is still too premature to be released for human consumption. GMO-free zones are very important initiatives to meet expectations of those consumers who do not want to be part of this great food gamble which scientist play.”

I, as a chef, a person who deals with food every day, have done my research on GE foods and I have come to the conclusion, like so many others, that indeed, there is no scientific research showing nutritional benefits of GE foods which would warrant wide spread use of GMO’s.

Let’s follow other communities and not gamble with our food supply, help defeat SB 777.

The increasing popularity of biofeedback in dealing with disorders resulted in an increasing number of entities providing this service. Biofeedback “specialists” can be found in mental health clinics, universities, medical schools, hospitals, private practice etc. These persons hold degrees in psychology, social work, medicine, physical therapy, nursing and other associated fields.

Professionals themselves would like to see a move closer to formal training and testing in the area. Training, as of now is achieved in one of the few training programs or home-study courses. As insurance agencies are starting to reimburse for biofeedback services, they will require certification of the individual providing the service in the area of treatment.

Anyone can purchase biofeedback software and equipment. It is tremendously important, that the provider you are seeking is properly credentialed. BCIA, mentioned in a previous post, provides accreditation and educational programs that are not stemming from universities. They offer certification in General Biofeedback and for EEG Biofeedback.

Remember, these credentials are not always required to offer biofeedback, seeking a practitioner with these credentials could only enhance a clinicians knowledge. Here are the guidelines for general certification:

All certifications require training and an internship supervised by a certified member, followed by a written examination. The practitioner must participate in continued educational seminars or courses in order to stay certified. Certification is reviewed every 4 years.

Questions to ask a prospective biofeedback provider:

What are your credentials? Have you received extended training at workshops, seminars, or professional biofeedback training? Do you teach courses on the topic? Do you commit yourself to lifelong learning on the subject? Are you licensed in your specific field? Are you familiar with the application of biofeedback I am seeking treatment for? These questions are always a good start.

I hope I was able to shed some light on the very legitimate practice of biofeedback. Please feel free to comment or ask questions right here or contact:

Electrocardiology and Heart Rate Variability Feedback (HRV) The electrocardiogram (ECG) records the electric impulses of the heart. In biofeedback those are rarely used what is used however is the HRV (Heart Rate Variability). What is it? HRV is calculated by the elapsed time in between heart beats. It is directly related to the sinoatrial node (or the pacemaker) of the heart. It joins the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches of the autonomous nervous system. A lack of variation could signal an imbalance between these two, and a sign of poor cardiac health. Decrease one (parasympathetic) or increase the other (sympathetic) and there is an increase occurrence of arrhythmias. Low levels of HRV are related to mortality, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, and congestive heart failure. Yes you guessed right, people who exercise or endurance athletes have higher HRV. How can we achieve this in the untrained individual, increasing HRV? This is possible by showing them how to become calm and relaxed and to concentrate on breathing. People are just now beginning to get a grasp of this interesting application. Tomorrow: the conclusion: Training and Credentials of Biofeedback Therapists Beste Gesundheit, Werner PS: Further reading on HRV would be: Lown and Verrier, 1976 Tsuji, Vendetti, Manders, 1994 Tsuji, Larson, Vendetti, 1996 Boutcher et al, 1997 Gevirtz, Lehrer, 2003

The most common biofeedback modalities are EMG (Electromyography), SCR (skin conductance response and temperature response), and sweat gland activity. But there are more particular procedures emerging like EEG (electroencephalograph or neurotherapy), HRV (heart rate variability) , and BVPI (blood volume pulse). We already covered the three “workhorses” of biofeedback (EMG, SCR, and sweat gland activity) in previous posts. Lets move on to the more specialized forms of biofeedback.

EEG or Electroencephalograph Biofeedback or Neurotherapy

I hope I am not getting to technical with that but I need to mention some terms in order to make this concept understandable, or show why it works. Brain activity, like most other functions of the body, can be monitored. What is measured is the electric activity between the synapses of neurons. (look for future posts under the heading psychoneuroimmunology for a detailed explanation how this works.) This activity shows the exchange of information between pre- and post-synaptic space. It is termed post-synaptic potential (PSP). The tally of the PSPs is the EEG.

EEG is separated into different incidence of bands. Each incidence of band has a matching behavior. The biggest application of EEG is being the treatment of attention deficit disorder (ADD). Here is a case study:

Jack 15:(1)

Diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive type.

Children with this diagnosis have different brain-wave activity then kids who do not have this problem. ADD and ADHD patients have normally excessive slow brain-wave activity or THETA, which causes them not to pay attention. In addition, they have not enough fast brain wave activity termed BETA. Stimulant medication gets these kids hyped up, with all kinds of side effects. Below, this case study will show how the same result is achieved without medication, and of course the nasty side effects.

After observing Jacks brain wave activity during various conditions simulating the school environment it was found that Jack had a ratio of approximately 3:2. The treatment sought to reduce this ratio to 1:1.

After being “hooked up” to the equipment, Jack was asked to increase beta waves and reduce theta without instrumentation. The thresholds were set so that Jack received a “point” 80% (eighty-percent) of the time. As Jack improved, thresholds were set to a more difficult level, hence shaping his response.

In addition to his task, he was asked to listen to, and read different types of material, to again, simulate school conditions. At first lessons lasted 20 to 25 minutes, however as Jack gained more control over his EEG, sessions sometimes exceeded one hour.

Interestingly enough, at the time Jacks parents reported unbelievable changes in his behavior, this time could be exactly pinpointed on the EEG and it’s first occurrence of Jack’s beta waves being higher than his theta waves. His parents reported that Jack had maintained his ability to concentrate following the treatment. Several months after treatment Jack was still able to produce the desired response and was doing very well in school.

I hope this will shed some light on the fact that there are other, more suitable modalities, then mere medication for problems like ADD and ADHD.

If you would like to start a dialog about this or any other topics feel free to click on the comment link below this article. Your comments are always welcome.

Biofeedback has two basic approaches. The general approach is designed for people who are stuck in a continuous mode of heightened arousal or the fight or flight mode. This condition exists when the organism’s physiology prepares it to escape (flight) or engage (fight). The muscles are tense, pulse is elevated, perspiration increase, blood flow to the extremities decreased, pupils widen, etc.

Biofeedback teaches people to prevent this constant state of alert in the first place and shows how to reduce it when it occurs.

There are three basic modalities, the “Workhorses” of biofeedback. Here they are:

For general relaxation, EMG biofeedback is done from the forehead. Being able to relax the muscles there is thought to have a state of muscle relaxation throughout the body.

Relaxation can also be induced by learning how to warm ones hand, via an attached sensor to a finger. The important part is not the hand warming, but for the hand-warming to be achieved, nervous system activity needs to be slowed, which in turn allows blood vessel in the hand to be opened and for increased blood flow to the extremities.

Skin conductance, or sweat gland activity are often indicators for heightened arousal. We all experienced sweaty palms at one point or another in our lives. The fight-flight response causes the sweat glands of the hand to become over active. By paying close attention to this activity people can learn strategies how to decrease that arousal.

Of course there are a myriad of other stress relaxation options (yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, breathing, imagery etc.). I will be touching on each of them individually in later posts.

Bio is commonly referred to as self or pertaining to self. Feedback pertains to components that have a result were these components are modified, corrected, or enhanced by the result. Biofeedback then is a method in which information about the self is used to modify, correct or strengthen activity within the self. In other words, biofeedback is used therapeutically that involves measuring a persons physiologic modus operandi such as heart rate, muscular contractions, then this measurements are “fed back” to the person in an understandable way so that he/ she can modify this process. In clinical settings the goal is to help individuals alter their physiology to obtain a more robust state of health.

Here is an example:

Overactivity of muscles can cause severe pain. Such as slouching over a laptop for hours researching and composing a post to ones blog. This is of course not the only cause and there are others stressors which can be psychological, physical, or both. A physician might prescribe a muscle relaxant, a physical therapist might use heat, massage or exercise. A biofeedback therapist on the other hand would begin by monitoring the muscles thought to be involved. Once these muscles are singled out, the biofeedback therapist would teach the person how to prevent the levels of muscular tension from elevating and when threshold levels are exceeded an expeditious reduction.

Applied biofeedback, a term coined by Olson (1995), contains ten components as further defined by Schwartz and Schwartz (1995, 2003) (1):

1. a group of therapeutic procedures that
2. uses electronic or electromechanical instruments,
3. to accurately measure, process, and feedback to persons and their therapists,
4. information with educational and reinforcing properties
5. about neuromuscular and autonomic activity, both normal and abnormal,
6. in the form of analog or binary, auditory, and or visual feedback signals.
7. Best achieved with competent biofeedback professional,
8. the objectives are to help persons develop greater awareness of, confidence in, and increase in voluntary control over their physiological processes that are otherwise outside awareness and/ or under less voluntary control,
9. by first controlling the external signal,
10 and then by using “cognitions, sensations, or other cues to prevent, stop, or reduce symptoms.” (Scwartz and Schwartz, 2003, p.35)

this week the posts shall educate about biofeedback. What is biofeedback? It’s history? It’s applications? How could it be applied in larger settings? How could it contribute to the reduction or flat out discontinuation of medication? Biofeedback is a form of medicine truly establishing and enforcing the mind-body connection. Let’s get to it.

History:

Back in the 60’s there were a few brave man working on a project to disproof the conventional wisdom of the time, which held, that only the voluntary systems in the control of the CNS (central nervous system) could be controlled by learning. The players were Dr. Miller, then a psychologist at Yale University. Lee Birk, a psychiatry resident working with David Shapiro, David Shapiro himself, Bernard Tursky.

The problem:

Subtle movements of muscles could alter heart rate, blood pressure, hand temperature. What needed to be achieved was a way to eliminate such possibilities so researchers could claim “purely learned visceral” control. They thought this could be accomplished by giving curare, an agent that eliminates muscle movement, hence completely paralyzing the subject. Where to find a subject to risk an experiment which could lead to death? Birk, insisted that it was not so dangerous and volunteered himself.

The experiment worked. The conditioned responses were autonomic, because Birk was totally paralyzed. Birk also wrote the first medical book on biofeedback entitled Biofeedback: Behavioral Medicine (1973).

As you enjoy your Sunday morning with friends and loved ones, I would like to remind you about an upcoming event, on April 13 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Fremont, MI, Library, pertaining directly to them.

If you are the grocery shopper in the family you simply MUST ATTEND: "FOOD FOR THE EAR" If you eat food you need to understand the fundamental connection between good food and good health. This time we will be discussing GE (genetically engineered foods) and try to shed light on the international community and how the rest of the world feels about GE foods.

You can't get better without making some changes. We'll show you how li'l changes can get you to feel better and awesomer.

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About Werner Absenger

Werner is the founder of the Absenger Cancer Education Foundation (ACEF) a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. He helps empower and improve the quality of life of West Michigan’s cancer survivors, their loved ones, caregivers, and people living with chronic disease. This goal is accomplished through research, education, and integration of evidence-based nutrition and mind-body modalities. Continue reading...

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